Flowers can cost a lot of money! I remember when I just started my business doing wedding flowers, a friend of mine was very supportive of my new endeavor. He very seriously confided to me that I was going to make some big bucks because “did you know that my [very crazy] friend spent seventeen hundred dollars on their wedding flowers?” I guess that could be considered impressive… if it were just for the bridal bouquet!

But all kidding aside, flowers can be a hefty percentage of your wedding budget. And who hasn’t had a mom, grandmother, or friend admonish you when you surprised them with flowers by saying “But they’re just going to die anyway”? Flowers are beautiful and ephemeral and not too many people are able to rationalize their expense except perhaps on a once in a lifetime event. And even if you are prepared to spend a lot on flowers, there are ways to get more bang for your buck.

Pick up any bridal magazine or wedding guidebook and you will find many suggestions for saving money on flowers: choose flowers that are in season, don’t have too many guests or people in the bridal party, reuse arrangements from the ceremony for the reception, choose low centerpieces for the tables. What these tips have in common is that they help cut the cost that the florist must spend on the actual flowers by either reducing the amount of flowers or the cost of the flowers (in season flowers are lower than out of season).

One other way for a couple to save money on flowers is to find a cheaper florist! Do cheaper florists actually exist and is it even prudent to hire one? Florists’ prices correlate to the amount of overhead they have (in addition to experience and other factors). Overhead costs can include: the cost of leasing space like a studio or a shop, the cost of having employees, the cost of owning a delivery van, the cost of advertising in national wedding magazines. And these costs are additional to the cost of the actual flowers and vases used for your wedding. The trick, then, is to find someone who has low overhead. Usually this is someone who does not have to pay rent for a shop and might work out of his or her garage. This someone could have a regular daytime paying job, but also freelances as a floral designer on the side, or someone who is just starting out in the floral field.

So where can a bride find a cheap florist? One site to check out is Craigslist.com. Advertising on Craigslist is free and simple, and even easier to use. Just search for “wedding flowers” under “services” in your city and several potential florists should show up. Of course it’s very important to meet with them and take a look at their portfolios so you feel confident they will do a good job on your wedding flowers. Chances are, you may find yourself an up and coming star and save a lot of money to boot!